Mary G Porter Traditional School

Under the philosophy of site base management in Prince William County Public Schools, the Porter Advisory Council will represent and assess the needs of the community and staff. The Advisory Council will develop the school plan and ensure that it reflects the vision and mission of Porter. The Advisory Council will act as an advisor to the school administration on the implementation, evaluation and modification of the School Plan as well as on the budget. The Porter Advisory Council will identify concerns, obtain community and staff feedback, and support the goals of the educational system.

MEMBERSHIP

The representatives of the Porter Advisory Council will be comprised of Parents, Staff and Principal. The members will include the following:

Staff:        Four (4) Teachers from the grade levels (1-8)
                  Four (4) Teacher alternates for grade level (1 to 8)
                  Two (2) Additional Porter Staff Members

Parents:      One (1) Parent from each grade level (1 to 8) with one
                             Parent designated as the PTO representative
                  One (1) Parent alternate from each grade level (1 to 8)

Note: An attempt should be made to acquire Parent representation from each of the County’s geographic areas that are represented in the Porter school population.

Nominations for the positions of Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Secretaries will be held in May with the elections in June. Any alternates will be selected using the guidelines under Selection Process.

Members have an obligation to communicate with the Council and those individuals they represent on an on-going basis. Council Members names will be published in the monthly newsletter not later than October and will be included in the Advisory Council Notebook located in the Office.

The representative to the Superintendent’s Advisory Council (selected from one of the Parent Members) will be required to attend the monthly meetings at Independent Hill. At the next Porter Advisory Council meeting the representative will report on agenda items and other information provided at those meetings.

There will be an alternate for each member of the Council. Alternates are encouraged to attend all Council meetings. Alternates may vote only if they are representing an absent Council Member at the meeting.

Meetings

The Porter Advisory Council Meetings are open to all Porter parents, staff and community members.

The Porter Advisory Council will meet once a month from September through June. All meetings will be held from 6:30PM until 8:30 PM and will not last longer than two (2) hours. The meetings will be held on the first (1^st) Wednesday of each month. In the event of a Wednesday holiday, the meeting will be held on the second (2^nd) Wednesday of that month.

If special meetings are needed or a meeting needs to be cancelled or postponed, the Principal will contact the Vice Chairperson and the phone tree will be activated. The Principal and the Chairperson will reschedule the meeting. A notice of any changes to meeting schedule will be sent home with the students.

Meetings will be publicized at Back to School Night and other methods decided upon by the Council.

The agenda for each meeting will be tentatively set at the preceding Council meeting. The Chairperson will contact the Principal prior to finalizing the agenda to determine if any changes or additions need to be made before sending to members. An opportunity for members to add to this agenda will be provided.

Open Chair

The first fifteen (15) minutes of each Advisory Council Meeting will be designated as Open Chair Time. Any parent, staff member, or member of the community may address the Advisory Council. A person’s time is limited to three (3) minutes. Time may be extended at the discretion of the Chairperson. There will be a sign-up sheet located in the office for all interested parties wishing to address Advisory Council during Open Chair Time. Before each Advisory Council meeting, the sign-up sheet will be moved to the meeting room where people may sign until the Advisory Meeting is called to order. Speakers will be called in the order that their names appear on the sign-up sheet. The order may be changed at the discretion of the Chairperson.

A response to issues, questions, and/or concerns raised during Open Chair may be given in two (2) ways:

1. By providing a written statement or directly contacting the person(s) prior to the next meeting

2. By providing an answer at the next Advisory Council Meeting